Nightmares
by InkTreasures88
Summary: The rain is pouring and Ellie feels like she's drowning. Somehow she makes it to his door, soaking wet and praying for a lifesaver. Even if is, of all people, Alec Hardy.


**A/N: I wrote this one rainy summer night a while ago and finally found the courage to share it. I don't own Broadchurch.**

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The rain poured but she kept moving her feet anyway. The wind battered her from all sides, her faithful orange coat doing absolutely nothing to keep out the cold. Her jeans were soaked through and her sneakers weren't much better. As the wind kept its relentless pursuit of her she gave up on the hood all together. Her curls were instantly soaked and they dropped trails of rain down her face. She kept walking. Everything seemed ready to consume her. It had been two years since Joe had destroyed her life along with all of those unfortunate enough to get caught in his cross hairs. God knows she's been staying strong for her boys. She stood in the place she had called home her whole life, refusing to let her bastard husband ruin that for her too. She wasn't going to give him or anyone in this bloody town the satisfaction of running away. And she didn't. It had been two years and she managed to rid the house of everything that was his, but bittersweet memories still lingered in every room and crevice. She threw herself into work again at the station and threw herself even deeper into her sons lives, because at the end of the day, it was about them and not her. Two years had passed but tonight the walls she had carefully built were breaking like the waves on Broadchurch beach.

Ellie let the icy rain fall down her face and down the back of her neck. She wanted the storm to swallow her whole. She wanted the chaos it caused to sweep her up and take her with it. Hot tears began to fall, mixing with the rain already in her eyes and they began to blur. There was no one around at this time of night on the High street. It was just her and the storm raging both inside and outside of herself. She hated Joe for everything he did to her, her sons, to this town and to Danny. She hated that he put a target on her back from every reporter in Britain. She hated the sideways glances and looks of pity she still received from her co-workers and people in town. She hated that he had the audacity to force them through a trial and most of all, she hated that he was free. Knowing that he was out there still made her blood boil. It clawed at her no matter how hard she tried to busy herself with work and her sons. It was like she was endlessly running from the mess Joe created and getting nowhere. Tonight was her breaking point.

Earlier that night, she had kissed her boys goodnight and made her way to her own room. She was exhausted and for once did not have the energy to dwell on the fact that she now slept alone in a cold bed. Her eyes shut before she hit the pillow, believing that her exhaustion would fuel a dreamless sleep.

She was wrong.

They came in horrible flashes each one worse than the last. Danny was there. He screamed at her to help him. He screamed at her that she should have known and all she could do was watch the waves swallow him whole. The Latimers were next. Each one screamed atrocities at her and she could only watch the waves swallow them too. Joe was last. He told her he was sorry. He told her he wanted to be a family again. He reached for her and she tried to run. Her feet were buried in the sand and she couldn't move. She screamed that she wished he was dead. The raging ocean drowned out her cries. A massive wave loomed over her head. She kept screaming that she should have known, until it's her turn for the water to swallow her too.

She had woken with a gasp and a coughing fit that shuddered through her whole body. She was soaked in sweat and her heart was in her ears. She could barely breathe. She got up and paced the length of her room to calm herself. She managed to bade the feeling that she was drowning but her mind and heart still aches for what she thought she could have prevented. She should have known and now her disgusting ex husband was walking free. Its too much. The room suddenly feels like it's closing in on her. She needed to get out. She needed to get away from the what ifs that were threatening to suffocate her.

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Now she stands in front of the one persons door she has come to rely on more than her own family. The one person she thinks can calm the storm she's been battling in secret for the past two years. The person that has, against all odds, become her only friend. She bangs on Alec's door and hopes he can hear over the sound of the pounding rain. A light turns on in the window faster than she thought it would and the door opens next. He takes one look at her, soaked to the bone on his front step and pulls her inside.

The warmth of his house is a welcome change from the cold outside but she's still shivering from head to toe. He looks at her again fully taking in her state in the lamplight.

"Christ Miller what were you doing in that storm!?" His eyes were wide with concern searching her face. She tried to speak but only managed to chatter her teeth and drip more water onto his floor. Her eyes are wet and silent tears begin to fall again. This jolts Hardy into action.

"We have to get you out of these clothes and warmed up before you get sick." Ellie nods her head.

She brings her hand to the zipper of her dripping orange coat, but she's shaking too much to open it. Not being able to handle how broken she looks Hardy moves to help her. On any other day, Ellie would have refused his help, but right now she barely has the energy to remain standing and so she welcomes his steady hands. He takes off her coat for her and moves to untie her shoes. She lets him take them off along with her socks, still unable to move. He grabs a towel and begins to dry her hair and wipe the trail of tears and rain from her face. He stays silent, treating her with such care and tenderness it's overwhelming. It hits her that he has a daughter and he's probably done this before. His brown eyes are so soft on her she can already feel herself warming up a bit more. He disappears again and comes back with a jumper and a pair of sweatpants. He puts a hand on her arm and gives her the clothes.

"Go and put these on while I put the rest of your clothes in the dryer ok?" He's speaking softly and comforts her with slows rubs up and down her arm. His touch is warm and makes her feel strong enough to move and she heads for the loo to change.

While she gathers herself, Hardy focuses on putting her soaked clothes to dry and making some tea. He looks at the clock on his stove and it's three in the morning. He had just woken from another waterlogged nightmare when he heard Ellie banging on his door. The state of her disturbed Alec. He has never seen her so rattled. They've gotten closer over the past two years while working together, especially after the trial and solving Sandbrook. They came to realize they needed each other as he began to help her piece her life back together, and unknown to Ellie, Alec's life as well. She had seemed so happy with her sons and at the station she was working hard and doing great work with him. As Alec lowered the tea bags into two mugs he wondered what had tipped her over the edge and he cursed himself for not seeing the signs earlier and helping her.

In the bathroom Ellie tried to pull herself together. She stripped herself of her heavy clothes and put on Alec's jumper. It was too long and big for her, but she relished the feeling of the soft, warm fabric against her skin. It smelled of him and it made her feel safe. It dawned on her how much she trusted Alec. Both as her boss and as her friend, he was always there for her. Even with his own ghosts still haunting him he chose to stay by her side. She puts the pants on, they were also too long for her so she rolled them up and looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair was wild and her eyes were dark with circles from the nightmares that plagued her sleep. She fixed her hair the best she could and rubbed her hands down her face. Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves and her hands, she picked up her wet clothes and headed back to Hardy. When she came into the sitting room he leapt from the sofa and turned to look at her. He studied her from top to bottom and she could see the worry in his eyes. There was always a fire of emotion in his gaze and Ellie couldn't handle it. She looked down at her bare feet suddenly shy. In that moment it struck Alec how small Ellie actually was. He had always seen her from behind a desk and now, in his oversized clothes, he could see how vulnerable she looked. He placed a hand on her shoulder and she looked up at him.

"I'll put these with the rest and I've made you a cuppa alright?" He rubbed small circles into her shoulder and she nodded.

He brushed past her and Ellie eyed the steaming mugs of tea on the table. She took one and made herself at home on his sofa. The heat of the cup in her hand grounded her and she was glad for once that Alec had always made the strongest tea she's ever had. He came back and sat down next to her grabbing his own tea. Their knees and shoulders were touching and the contact was comforting her a little more. Hardy could tell she was a lot more relaxed, but he knew she wasn't ready to talk. They sat in silence and Miller was grateful that Alec didn't hit her with his usual list of questions. They sat drinking their tea until Ellie spoke up.

"Thank you." She told him.

Alec turned to her and nodded. Then looked into his mug, suddenly finding it more interesting. He cleared his throat.

"Do you want to tell me why you walked all the way over here in the middle of this storm?"

He knew she didn't want to talk about it but he tried anyway. He expected her to quickly refuse but when he got no answer he turned to her again. Her eyes were down and her finger was nervously running circles around the rim of her mug, her leg bouncing against his. He laid a hand on her knee and that seemed to snap her out of whatever it was that she was reliving.

"Miller, you know you can tell me anything."

She had been through hell and back with him and it all started the day he said those three earth shattering words in that interrogation room. He played a massive role in the upheaval of her life but he had also become her anchor in the aftermath. He had seen her at her darkest and when her heart was in pieces and it occurred to her that he knew a side of her that even Joe never did. And because of that, she lifted her head, looked him in the eye and told him everything.

By the time she finished recounting her nightmare the tea had gone cold and fresh tears were in her eyes. She whipped furiously at them with a sigh and waited for his response.

He sat for a moment and stared at her. Her brown eyes her glistening from the tears she kept trying to hold back from him. From the guilt that was threatening to eat her alive. He realized she still hadn't forgiven herself for not knowing what Joe was doing. He wanted to tell her it wasn't her fault, he wanted to tell her she needed to forgive herself, he wanted to say so many things, but what she needed right now was action, not his shitty platitudes. Instead he did what he believed would reassure her better than any of his words ever could. He moved to put his arm around her. She tensed up a moment before surrendering to his touch. She laid her head on his chest and let out everything she had held in for so long. He pulled her closer and ran a hand through her curls over and over and prayed it was enough to comfort her. He let her stay there until he felt her body had stopped shaking and realized she had cried herself to sleep. He kissed the top of her head as his eyes began to close, the nights events finally catching up with him. He fell asleep holding her, vowing he would keep her safe from the storm that raged inside her heart and outside his window.

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**A/N: I had plans to leave this as a one shot but now I am getting ideas for one more chapter. We will see where it takes us. Please review and let me know what you think.**


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